Skip to content

咱们

zán men
HSK 2.0 Level 4 HSK 3.0 Level 3 Pronoun Very common

Definitions

  1. 1. we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to)
  2. 2. (dialect) I or me
  3. 3. (dialect) (in a coaxing or familiar way) you
  4. 4. also pr. [zá men]

Stop forgetting what you study. Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Get Yearly · $49.99 / year

Sign up with Google
Continue with Email

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Try a practice session

Word relationships

Counterparts

1 item
你们
nǐ men

you (plural)

Pronoun pair: 'we (inclusive)' vs 'you (plural)'.

Register variants

1 item
我们
wǒ men

we

咱们 is more colloquial and inclusive (includes the listener), while 我们 can be exclusive or inclusive and is more formal/neutral.

Usage notes

Collocations

咱们 is commonly used in the structure '咱们 + [verb] + 吧' to make suggestions that include the listener.

Formality

In formal writing or speeches, avoid 咱们 and use 我们 instead to sound more professional.

Grammar

Guides that feature 咱们

Jump into a full guide with fill-in-the-blank drills. Clicking will load the page and move you to the top.

1 guide
HSK 2.0 Level 3+ HSK 3.0 Level 3+ 6 min
Pronouns 别人 and 咱们

Use 别人 to talk about “other people” and 咱们 to say “we” in a way that always includes the person you’re talking to.

Reading: zán men Open guide

Example Sentences

1 shown
咱们 一起去吃饭吧！
Let's go eat together!

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 咱们

们
men

plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals

咱
zá

see 咱[zán]

咱
zán

I or me